Aurora officer wins national cop-of-year award

November 06, 2008

When a sleeping Aurora boy was shot to death in his uncle's bed in 1996, the crime shocked the west suburban city and left officers vowing to find the gunman responsible.

But it wasn't until a tenacious cop and FBI agent got hold of the cold case years later that the suspects were nabbed, part of a sweep that resulted in the arrest of dozens of alleged gang members later charged with 179 counts of first-degree murder dating back to 1989.

Working with the FBI, the Kane County states attorney's office and fellow Aurora police, Officer Michael Nilles spearheaded an effort that helped halt a gang-related killing spree, Aurora police report. And on Sunday, he will be commended as Parade magazine's 2008 Police Officer of the Year, an award jointly given by the Association of Chiefs of Police. An awards ceremony will be Tuesday.

While not a monetary award, it carries the prestige of being recognized by his peers and the nationwide magazine. Parade has flown Nilles, 43, and his family to San Diego for an awards ceremony scheduled for Monday.

Beginning in 2002, Nilles and FBI Special Agent Cory McGookin flew to Mexico to talk to a witness and interviewed hundreds of people on cases that included the 1996 death of 6-year-old Nico Contreras. Two suspects were arrested in the Contreras case in 2006, but "Operation First-Degree Burn" was far broader than that.

"If you were going to tell me we were going to get 30 guys out of 31 [suspects] in custody, I would've said there was no way," he said. "We would've been satisfied with half these guys, but when we got them all, it was just amazing."